Postdoctoral Research Fellow – Agentic Modeling, Simulation & Wargaming

Virginia Tech Applied Research Corporation

. Develop research questions, hypotheses, evaluation criteria, and feasible work plans with a senior research mentor .

Posted 10/10/2026full-timeArlington • Virginia • United StatesMid-LevelSenior💰 $45 - $55 per hourWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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Demonstrates expertise in Python programming, agent-based modeling, and experimental design, with a strong ability to translate research into actionable insights and communicate findings effectively. Proficient in using cloud environments like AWS and maintaining reproducible research practices.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Python ProficiencyAgent-Based ModelingExperimental DesignAWS Cloud ToolsResearch Communication

ATS Keywords

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Hard Skills

Analytical Software DevelopmentDebuggingSensitivity AnalysisData IntegrationSimulation ExecutionVersion ControlTechnical DocumentationResearch PrototypingModel VerificationData Quality Assessment

Soft Skills

Clear CommunicationIndependent ExecutionProblem StructuringCollaborative WorkConstructive Response to Review

Tools & Technologies

APIsCoding AssistantsVersion Control SystemsSimulation ComponentsTechnical Presentation Tools

Industry Keywords

National SecurityMission EngineeringAnalytical WargamingDecision-Support PrototypingComputational Modeling

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

AWSCloudPython

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Develop research questions, hypotheses, evaluation criteria, and feasible work plans with a senior research mentor
Propose original investigations and contribute to an individual development plan
Design, code, test, debug, document, and demonstrate prototype models, simulation components, data integrations, and analytical applications
Take bounded concepts through implementation and iterative evaluation
Develop and evaluate generative agent-based simulations and human-supervised agentic workflows
Design experiments and sensitivity studies assessing prompts, model selection, stochastic variation, data quality, and assumptions
Compare results with baselines or reference cases and document limitations
Use Python and supporting development tools for data preparation, APIs, simulation execution, and analysis
Use approved AWS or comparable environments within access controls and compute budgets
Translate research into mission threads, conceptual models, requirements, interfaces, and evaluation plans
Contribute scenarios, evaluation logic, data collection, and prototype demonstrations to analytical wargames or tabletop studies
Participate in approved, unclassified discussions with government stakeholders and brief technical findings and limitations
Maintain version-controlled code, tests, experiment records, and technical documentation
Prepare research briefs, presentations, manuscripts, or publication-quality material where release is authorized
Manage agreed tasks and milestones, report progress, identify risks, and collaborate in technical reviews
Use approved coding assistants responsibly and independently verify generated code
Work under an assigned senior research mentor on mission engineering, analytical wargaming, and decision-support prototyping

Requirements

What you’ll need

Demonstrated research and modeling capability through doctoral work, publications, research engagements, or substantial technical projects
No minimum years of post-Ph.D. employment required
Ability to build, test, debug, and explain functioning analytical software or research prototypes
Working Python proficiency, or strong proficiency in another relevant language with ability to become productive in Python quickly
Experience with agent-based modeling, system dynamics, generative agents, or related computational modeling
Working understanding of agentic AI and ability to investigate and verify model behavior
Ability to design experiments, evaluate evidence, conduct sensitivity analysis, and maintain reproducible code and research records
Practical familiarity with APIs, version control, debugging, and testing
Experience using cloud tools such as AWS, or ability to learn approved environments quickly while following data-handling, access, and resource-use requirements
Ability to structure open-ended problems, learn new mission domains, communicate clearly with technical and nontechnical audiences, and independently execute agreed work while responding constructively to review
Completed Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering, another engineering discipline, Operations Research, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, or a related technical field by the fellowship start date
Selected candidate must meet employment authorization and applicable background-screening requirements
Familiarity with the National Security space and/or a keen interest in it is critical for long-term success
Prior defense employment, existing clearance, and independent wargame leadership are not prerequisites

Benefits

Comp & perks

Paid, mentored research appointment
Dedicated research exploration as part of the paid work plan
Written research and individual development plan with regular technical and career-development reviews
Approved professional-development activities included in paid work plan
Potential appointment extension subject to funding, performance, and HR approval
Approved research tools and compute resources provided or funded by VT-ARC
Limited, preapproved travel for research collaboration, demonstrations, workshops, or professional development
U.S.-based remote work may be considered and approved
Potential future VT-ARC research or systems/mission engineering opportunities
Equal opportunity employer
Reasonable accommodation for application or interview process